Suimple - a plugin for Rhino and Grasshopper

Automatically create simple User Interfaces for your Grasshopper files with minimal setup, converting your components directly into form elements.

Once you’ve set up your files, users can access them directly without interacting with Grasshopper at all!

Of course, there are already several plugins out there for creating Grasshopper UI’s and dashboards, such as HumanUI, Synapse, UI+, the Remote Control Panel, and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting or don’t know.

For many situations though, I found these powerful tools were more than what was needed. The goal for Suimple is to make it as simple as possible (hence the name, ‘simple’ + ‘ui’) to use, by creating the UI for you. No new Grasshopper components, no tedious setup, it simply generates an interface for you based on how you’ve already setup your Grasshopper file.

Key Features

1) Automatic GUIs for Grasshopper Scripts

Suimple will create a GUI for you based on the logic of your Grasshopper script. You don’t need any special Grasshopper components, you just need to keep your script tidy and follow some simple guidelines.

2) Create a Script Library for Yourself or Your Team

So long as your teammates can access the same folder, you can create a library of scripts that you maintain. The library will create a dropdown menu based on the folder structure you create. Users can find and select Grasshopper files, open the automatically created GUI, and not interact directly with Grasshopper at all.

3) Automatically Trigger Multiple Grasshopper Files

If you load up multiple files, there is an option to automatically trigger the next script when a previous one has completed. This gives you the flexibility to break up large and complex scripts into smaller scripts that are more manageable and well-defined.

Getting Started

1. To try it out, you can install Suimple from the Package Manager. When searching, make sure to check the box Include pre-releases.

2. Open Grasshopper

3. Select a file you already have, or create a new one. Be sure to create at least one Group of components, and label that Group starting with the word “Input”. You can also create a Group and label it “Output”

4. Type “Suimple” in the Command Line to open the viewer.

5. You should see your active file now on the dropdown. Click “Load”, and see the UI that has been generated.

   1. Click to expand the loading options
   2. It should default to Active Files
   3. The list will populate with all GH files you have open. Select which one you’d like to load.
   4. Click Load.

6. Change some of your inputs, and click the Run button.

This is a quick intro, there are more detailed instructions, as well as a map of current limitations and work-in-progress features.

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Suimple is developed by Keyan Rahimzadeh, who has been working in Computational Design for over a decade. He spent ten years at Front, Inc., where he was one of the lead developers of eleFront and then joined Grimshaw as the Computational Design Manager in New York, where some of the first prototypes for Suimple were tested and refined.